Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:1-9; Mk 4:1-9, 23; Lk 8:4-8)
On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake and began to teach.[1] People were coming to Jesus from one town after another. And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there while the whole crowd stood on the shore by the lake. He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching said to them:“Listen! A sower went out to sow his seed.[2] And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds came and devoured it.[3] Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. But when the sun came up, it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root and had no moisture, it withered.
Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up with them and choked it, and it did not produce grain. But other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, sprouting and growing; some yielded thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred times.”[4] And he said, “Whoever has ears had better listen!”
Parable of the Sower Explained (Mt 13:18-23; Mk 4:14-20; Lk 8:11-15)
Now the parable means this: The seed is the word of God and the sower sows the word. When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one (Satan, the devil) comes and snatches away the word that was sown in his heart so that he may not believe and be saved. This is the seed sown along the path.“The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. He believes for a while, but he has no root in himself and does not endure in a time of testing. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.
“The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but as they go on their way worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth and the pleasures of life choke the word, so it does not mature and produces nothing.
“But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word, understands and receives it, clinging to it with an honest and good heart and steadfast endurance. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”
Parable of Wheat & Weeds (Mt 13:24–30; 36-43)
Jesus presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.“So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ “He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’“ So the servants replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’
“But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.[5] At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom.
The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks that cause sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.[6] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Parables of Seeds, Mustard Seed, & Yeast (Mk 4:26-34; Mt 13:31-45; Lk 13:18-21)
Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who spreads seed on the ground. He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. By itself the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. And when the grain is ripe, he sends in the sickle because the harvest has come.”Jesus also asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to present it? It is like a mustard seed that when sown in the ground, even though it is the smallest of all the seeds in the ground— when it is sown, it grows up, becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large branches so that the wild birds can nest in its shade.”
Again Jesus said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”
I think these parables are meant to be read as telling a story, with each one being like a contributing chapter. The Big Story goes something like this:
· Parable of the Sower - Ideally, the seed of the Word/Truth of God grows in good heart soil and yields fruit,[7] but that’s not always the case. When the heart is hard, the ‘wild birds’ of the evil one snatch it away. When the heart is shallow, the seed will not take root. When the heart is compromised, the other things that have been sown in it will overpower the seed. So, have a heart ready for the truth.
· The Weeds And Wheat - But be alert: more than one sower is competing for the hearts of people. In the sower’s field of the world (and the church?), the wheat will grow amidst counterfeits that threaten to ruin the harvest. Don’t panic. The wheat will grow and survive in a mixed field. The weeds can’t stop the wheat from being the wheat.
· The Seeds - Be humble: remember, this good crop of wheat is patiently and steadily flourishing thanks to the work of the Sower, work we don’t understand and wasn’t done in our power.
· The Mustard Seed - The kingdom of God will grow such that it offers safety and shade to all – even the ‘wild birds’ who once sought to stop it from growing (like the Apostle Paul).
· The Yeast - Just a few people can make a huge difference in the growth of the Kingdom.
The Parable of the Sower: Ideally, seed (the Word/truth of God) grows in good heart soil that yields fruit. The first part of the parable is sobering. Our hearts can be hard (the path), shallow (the rocky ground), or seduced/overwhelmed by the pleasures and pressures of the world (the thorns). It’s even possible to receive the word with joy and excitement…and have it come to nothing.[8] So, how do we get the kind of soil in which the truth of the gospel can grow?
First, we surrender ourselves to the work only God can do.
Is not the ground naturally bad in every heart? Undoubtedly. And can any but God make it good? None. But it is your business, when you hear of the justice and mercy of God, to implore him to work in you that which is pleasing in his sight.
No man shall be condemned because he did not change his own heart, but because he did not cry to God to change it, who gave him his Holy Spirit for this very purpose, and which he, by his worldly-mindedness and impiety, quenched. (Adam Clarke)
Second, the Bible is full of admonitions to ‘practice righteousness,’[9] to tame our will in accordance with the guidance of God. To the degree that we can influence the soil of our heart – and there can be lots of reasons why it is harder for some than others - I suspect it looks something like this.
· Soften our heart through humility and honesty.
· Dig our heart deep through perseverance.
· Uproot the material cares of the world through generosity.
The Weeds and the Wheat: There is more than one sower at work. Sowers are competing for a stake in the field of hearts (the world? the church? Jesus seems to imply both). The weed is probably something called darnel, which looks a LOT like wheat until it begins to sprout. the counterfeit will look a lot like the real thing. By the time it’s obvious which is which, the roots are intertwined, and pulling up the weeds pulls up the wheat around it. How do we distinguish the real from the counterfeit? Well, when they begin to ripen and expose their grain – their fruit, if you will. It’s our job to discern the difference but not destroy the one who is different.
If this parable applies to both the world and the church, there are two points to be made.
· First, it’s foolish to think we can create a Christian utopia. Let’s recognize we share the field of the world with others that we are not called to destroy. What we are called to do is flourish as wheat in their midst.
· Second, this may function as a warning about deception creeping into the church, especially considering how often the writers of the letters in the NT warned people about the counterfeits in their midst. They, too, we are to identify the trouble but not destroy the troublemaker. More on this in a moment.
Considering how many times Jesus calls out the hypocrites around him, and how many times the writers of the NT letters called out false teachers in the church, I don’t think this is meant to be a call to passivity on confronting error and corruption. I think this has more to do with taking the ultimate judgment into our hands. Martin Luther, who had his own set of issues worth confronting, had something important to say about how the church wields its power.
Again this Gospel teaches how we should conduct ourselves toward these heretics and false teachers…Here he says publicly let both grow together… he who errs today may find the truth tomorrow. Who knows when the Word of God may touch his heart?
But if he be burned at the stake, or otherwise destroyed, it is thereby assured that he can never find the truth; and thus the Word of God is snatched from him, and he must be lost, who otherwise might have been saved…That is something awful in the eyes of God and never to be justified.
From this observe what raging and furious people we have been these many years, in that we desired to force others to believe; the Turks with the sword, heretics with fire, the Jews with death, and thus outroot the tares by our own power, as if we were the ones who could reign over hearts and spirits, and make them pious and right, which God’s Word alone must do.
But by murder we separate the people from the Word, so that it cannot possibly work upon them and we bring thus, with one stroke a double murder upon ourselves, as far as it lies in our power, namely, in that we murder the body for time and the soul for eternity, and afterwards say we did God a service by our actions, and wish to merit something special in heaven. (Martin Luther)
Luther notes what all the commentators I read note: people can change. Paul says to one of the churches, “All these things you once were.” Weeds can become wheat. There is always hope.[10]Using discernment to make a distinction between true and false wheat is necessary; seeking to destroy the very life of the false wheat is not our calling. We are here to convert, not destroy; to minister, not mangle. We will see this in the wild birds in the branches of the mustard tree, but we aren’t there yet.[11]
The Parable of the Seeds: The good crop grows patiently and gently thanks to work we don’t understand and wasn’t done in our power. Let’s remember to give credit where credit is due – to the Sower/Farmer. I’ve talked before about we invest sweat equity in our walk with Christ. We are exhorted to be “workers who don’t need to be ashamed.”[12] Paul talks about bringing his body (his life) into submission in the service of God.[13] We are not called to be lazy freeloaders. But it’s always true that God is at work in us in ways we don’t understand. The Holy Spirit is constantly bringing holy things out of us that we couldn’t do on our own.
What do I mean by saying it grows patiently and gently? We see in the imagery that the kingdom grows quietly. It is not an apocalyptic or violently revolutionary disruption. The kingdom does not force itself upon people. The seed is planted in order for it to germinate, grow to maturity, and produce fruit.[14]
Here’s where its probably also worth noting that the crops in the first parable were not all the same. There were different levels of production from good soil. Combined with this parable, it’s a good reminder not to judge others or be envious of others when their crop looks different than ours.[15] Good soil can yield different results. We don’t need to try to be somebody else. We just need to let the Sower do his work.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed: The kingdom of God grows miraculously - and offers shade to all. Jesus is using language his audience understood. Ezekiel compared the kingdoms of Assyria and Judah to a magnificent tree:
“All the birds of the sky nested in its twigs,
And under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth,
And all great nations lived under its shade.”
(Ezekiel 31:6)
On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant [Judah]; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree … (Ezekiel 17:23-24)
It’s worth nothing that mustard plants aren’t famous for being trees. They are considered shrubs. “I will make high the low tree,” said Jesus. The kingdom of God will become impossibly large. We see this right away in church history, when Christianity exploded into the world. The early church grew about 40% per decade. 35 AD = 1,000. 100 AD, 7,500. 150 AD, 40,000. 350 = 34 million.[16]
In the Old Testament, the birds seem to be Gentile nations benefiting from the blessings of the God’s covenantal community in Israel.[17] When Israel was faithful and true, they weren’t the only ones who benefitted.
Commentators note Jesus uses the same words for the birds that steal the seed and the birds in the tree. This seems to imply that, just like Saul who killed Christians became a Christian, there are those who were once enemies of the faith who will eventually find shelter in the Kingdom.[18] This takes me back to the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat. This is why you don’t destroy the weeds before the harvest. There is still time. The story isn’t over. Those ‘weed birds’ may yet find rest in the shade of the Kingdom.
5. Like yeast in bread, it only takes a few people to spread the kingdom far and wide. Have you heard of 6 degrees of separation? The idea is that I am 6 ‘people steps’ removed from any random person in the world. I know Bob, who knows Sally who knows….Random Person X. Meta claims to have it down to under 4 among Facebook users. The potential for our lives to have a ripple effect is incredible. When I was in youth group, we used to sit around a fire pit and sing, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going…” That's the idea. The 12 became 1,000 became over 2 billion today. Don’t underestimate the impact of one person sold out to Jesus. Don't underestimate your value in the Kingdom of God.
I’ve was trying to think of how to summarize all this, and this quote caught my eye:
Live in the kingdom of God in such a way that it provokes questions for which the gospel is the answer. - Lesslie Newbigin
I like that. When we live in the Kingdom as children of the King, may God’s goodness displayed in our lives be so intriguing that it brings out questions from those around us that gives us opportunity to point to Sower who planted the gospel seed that started it all.
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[1] “The place where Jesus sat beside the sea (13:1–2) is traditionally called the Cove of the Parables. It was a horseshoe-shaped cove that had remarkable acoustics. Anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 people could fit just along the beach, while twice that many could easily fill the entire hillside.” (ESV Global Study Bible)
[2] “Sowers must sow indiscriminately, but hearers must be careful to ensure that they are rich soil, capable of receiving and nurturing the seed, which is the word of God.” (Africa Bible Commentary)
[3] “The birds are a picture of Satan; he snatches away the seed…He cooperates with them in their self-chosen barrenness.” (Believers Bible Commentary) “Jubilees [likens Satan] to a swooping bird leading a pack of other birds: “…that they might eat the seed which was being sown in the earth in order to spoil the earth so that they might rob mankind of their labors. Before they plowed in the seed, the crows picked it off the surface of the earth” (Jub. 11:10–11). (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the New Testament)
[4] “Fruit here is probably the manifestation of Christian character rather than souls won to Christ. When the word fruit is used in the NT, it generally refers to the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23).” (Believers Bible Commentary)
[5] “Once the wheat was full grown and ready to be harvested, the darnel, now distinguishable from it, could be uprooted and used as cheap fuel. Laborers gathered wheat into sheaves, transporting it (often on donkeys) to a village’s threshing floor, or in this case to that of this large estate. Once threshed, it would be stored in a barn.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[6] Jesus seems to repeat this parable with a different image later in the chapter: “47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
[7] “If the goal of the Christian life may be stated as Christlikeness, then surely every trait developed in us that reflects His character must be fruit that is very pleasing to Him. Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in nine terms in Galatians 5:22-23, and Peter urges the development of seven accompaniments to faith in order that we might be fruitful (2 Peter 1:5-8). Two of these terms are common to both lists: love and self-control. The others are joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, virtue, knowledge, endurance, piety, and brotherly love.” https://bible.org/illustration/what-fruit
[8] “Receiving the kingdom with joy is not enough — a message the modern church desperately needs to hear. Faith that is temporary and unproductive is not true faith. As C. Keener observes, “the only conversions that count in the kingdom are those confirmed by a life of discipleship.” (Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus, Klyne R. Snodgrass)
[9] 1 John 3:7-8
[10] “God judges quite otherwise than men of this mixture of good and evil in the world; he knows the good which he intends to produce from it, and how far his patience towards the wicked should extend, in order to their conversion, or the farther sanctification of the righteous… A zeal for the extirpation of heretics and wicked… allows no time for the one to grow strong in goodness, or to the other to forsake their evil courses. The zeal which leads persons to persecute others for religious opinions is not less a seed of the devil than a bad opinion itself is. Let both grow together. Though every minister of God should separate from the Church of Christ every incorrigible sinner, yet he should proceed no farther: the man is not to be persecuted in his body or goods… GOD tolerates him; so should men. God…alone is the judge and punisher of them-man has no right to interfere in this matter. They who burnt Vanini for atheism usurped the seat of judgment, and thus proved themselves to be not less a diabolical seed than the person they… hurried into eternity. Mary, Queen of England, of execrable memory, and the inquisitorial tormentors she employed, were all of this diabolical sowing.” (Adam Clarke)
[11] “The Donatists of North Africa, in Augustine’s day…argued that, in the world, the two grow together but, in the Church, only wheat could be allowed. Augustine countered that both clean and unclean animals were housed in the ark, goats and sheep graze in the same pasture, grain and chaff are stored in the same barn and tares and wheat are found in the same field. The pure were known only to God and would be separated at the end of history…The initial story is a call for patience in the present that allows God to make the final judgment as to what is wheat and what is zizania… On the other hand, to affirm the parable, with its focus on the present, and deny the future judgment recorded in the interpretation is also a grave error…Both patience and warning are canonical themes.” Kenneth Bailey, https://pres-outlook.org/2006/07/the-parable-of-the-wheat-and-the-tares/
[12] 2 Timothy 2:15
[13] 1 Corinthians 9:27
[14] https://shenangopresbytery.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/parables.pdf
[15] “And we must not fail to notice that the soil that produces only a small crop is nevertheless called ‘good.’" (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[16] “The Secret to the Early Church’s Explosive Growth (It’s Not What You Think!)” https://newbreak.church/early-church-growth/
[17] ESV Reformation Study Bible
[18] There are other ideas about how to understand this imagery. I think this one makes the most sense, but I could, of course, be wrong.